Nick Bonino's go-ahead goal late in the second period was the third in a string of seven unanswered tallies by the visiting Nashville Predators, who stormed back to rout the host New York Islanders 8-3 on Tuesday night in Uniondale, N.Y.
The Predators trailed 3-1 before scoring the final four goals of the second period and all three goals in the third. The eight-goal outburst is Nashville's largest since a 9-2 win over the Toronto Maple Leafs on Nov 18, 2014.
Craig Smith scored twice for the Predators while Filip Forsberg started the flurry shortly before the midway point of the second period. Rocco Grimaldi scored the final goal of the second period before Calle Jarnkrok, Roman Josi and Ryan Johansen scored in the third.
Pekka Rinne made 27 saves.
The defensively stout Islanders, who allowed the fewest goals in the NHL last season and entered Tuesday having allowed the fewest goals this season, had their three-game winning streak snapped. The eight goals are the most allowed by New York since an 8-4 loss to the Carolina Hurricanes on March 13, 2017.
Brock Nelson, Derick Brassard and Casey Cizikas scored in unanswered fashion for New York in a span of just over five minutes early in the second period. Goalie Thomas Greiss took the loss after allowing five goals on 15 shots. Semyon Varlamov finished up and made six saves on nine shots in the third.
Cizikas' goal had not even been announced when the Predators began their comeback on Forsberg's power-play goal 27 seconds following Cizikas' tally. A turnover behind the Islanders' net led to Smith's second goal 2:20 later, and the Predators took the lead for good when Mattias Ekholm picked off Devon Toews' clearing pass and fired a shot from the blue line that was redirected by Bonino with 1:36 left in the period.
Grimaldi scored with 48 seconds left. The four-goal period was the third of the season for the Predators and the first time the Islanders have given up four goals in a period since the Dallas Stars did so on Nov. 18, 2018.
--Field Level Media
Nashville | NY Islanders | |
Craig Smith 3 | Points | Derick Brassard 1 |
Craig Smith 2 | Goals | Derick Brassard 1 |
Calle Jarnkrok 2 | Assists | Anthony Beauvillier 1 |
Filip Forsberg 1 | Power Play Goals | Derick Brassard 1 |
N/A | Short Handed Goals | Casey Cizikas 1 |
Pekka Rinne .900 | Save Percentage | Thomas Greiss .667 |
Pekka Rinne 27 | Saves | Thomas Greiss 10 |
Team | Shots | Goals | Power Play | Penalty Kill | Penalty Mins | Face Offs Won |
Nashville | 24 | 8 | 2-5 | 1-2 | 18 | 31 |
NY Islanders | 30 | 3 | 1-2 | 3-5 | 34 | 34 |